In terms of bang for your buck, here’s a list of our favorites

4. Indian Scout Sixty: $8,999

Last year Indian’s Scout Sixty won Honorable Mention for Best Value. Evans Brasfield said it best: “The same qualities that make the Indian Scout Sixty the Best Cruiser of 2016 make it an incredible value. Indian created a motorcycle that costs 20% less than its bigger sibling and gave it 95% of the torque and 83% of the horsepower. To put the Scout Sixty’s accomplishments into perspective, one needs to look no further than our Great American $9k Cruise-Off, which pit the Sixty against the Harley-Davidson Iron 883. The Sportster has long been the go-to model for cruiser fans looking for an American-made cruiser in $9,000 price range, but when the dust settled, the Sixty ended up on top by almost 2 percentage points, largely due to the strengths of its engine, suspension, and build quality.

Suggested Readings

Get Motorcycle.com in your Inbox

Sayyed Bashir

Just bought a maroon 2007 Suzuki Bandit 1250S yesterday in excellent condition. For only $2500. Runs like a dream. It is going to be my main commuter bike (except for rainy days). And for on-road dry weather weekend jaunts.

I have a 2015 KTM 1190 Adventure R for rainy days, hooliganism and off-road weekend adventures (going out tomorrow), and a 2007 Harley Softail when I want to scare the s**t out of people.

johnny mars

Just wear long pants because that chrome exhaust pipe will brand your bare calf. I’d slap a D&D carbon fiber pipe on that bad boy right off the bat. Then I’d get a set of bar risers and extenders since it’s a long reach. Otherwise, it’s a great value and a bulletproof engine.

Sayyed Bashir

It came with a Yoshimura carbon fiber exhaust so no problem there. No long reach for me. Maybe the previous owner already did the bar risers. He did a lot of updates including steel brake lines, better chain, etc. I have added a HealTech gear indicator which also eliminates the timing retard in the lower gears. Fast and smooth bike. Got a ticket the next day after adding the GIpro ATRE.

Great list, all true…but how can the FZ10 not be #1 if it beat the Tuono in your shootout and is $2k less…by cool factor alone?

Kevin Duke

We put this list together with an attempt to represent a wide swath of genres and styles, and the selection of the much-loved Tuono was a way to include something on the exotic end of things. I[‘d say the FZ-10 represents a better motorcycle-per-dollar value, while the Priller perhaps has a better lust-per-dollar value! YMMV…

The Africa Twin strikes a terrific middle ground of capability and price. Next up is determining which transmission makes for a better Africa Twin. We’ll be riding the pair in the desert this weekend. Stay tuned for our findings…

JMDGT

Tuono. Tuono. Tuono. Life will not be complete without a Tuono.

Kevin Duke

It’s worth it if you’re willing to dare…

Mad4TheCrest

Well, ‘value’ bikes are a difficult category, since what constitutes value can be subjective. There are considerations like low buy-in, low cost of ownership, fuel-efficiency, multi-role effectiveness, best combo of features for the buck, etc, etc. Trouble is, value can also represent a boring compromise. Which is why buying a bike on practical value can leave the owner feeling somewhat empty inside. Since most of us reading MO buy our bikes primarily for recreation and personal enjoyment rather than basic transport, I argue buy the best you can of what tugs at your heart and forget practicalities. With that in mind the Tuono seems spot-on as the #1.

Tinwoods

Well, there are also a lot of us out here (especially here in perpetually sunny Southern California) who prefer riding motorcycles than driving cars, so I would argue your comment, though articulately expressed, is frivolous nonsense.

Mad4TheCrest

Hmm… not nonsense at all: you are arguing my point. We ride because we like doing it better than sitting in cars. So riding is a passion, and why comprise a passion more than you have to?

Val Demort

Good one, same thoughts. I would add the Triumph Street Triple, most fun naked bike i ride these days. flat 10.000 new

John B.

This list could go on forever since motorcycles provide one of the best bang for the bucks in life. I would add two bikes to the list: A 2016 Kawasaki ZX-14R ABS out the door at my local dealer for $12,171 (the dealer delivers/ships bikes nationwide for a nominal fee). That’s only $63 per horsepower and $108 per foot pound of torque, which translates into a 9.77 second quarter mile on a bike suitable for 500 mile days according to one expert; BMW G310R, $4,750 MSRP. A Beemer for less than $5 grand; enough said.

I wish Yamaha would offer the FZ-07 in an adventure version for $8500 with ABS and TC, and keep the weight under 444 lbs.. Who wants that fat old, expensive Tenere anyway? I’d take an FJ-07 over a V-Strom or Versys or Triumph middleweight.

We use cookies to improve your experience on this website and so that ads you see online can be tailored to your online browsing interests.
We use data about you for a number of purposes explained in the links below. By continuing to browse our site you agree to our use of data and cookies.
Tell me more |
Cookie Preferences